


the shepherd and the princeling

by slappyjr



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Royalty, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-12
Updated: 2019-08-12
Packaged: 2020-08-19 19:35:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,081
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20215123
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/slappyjr/pseuds/slappyjr
Summary: Gaara smiles and pushes the door shut behind him. “You can come out now.”





	the shepherd and the princeling

**Author's Note:**

> HAPPY BIRTHDAY MISHY 💕💕
> 
> if you're not mish, go follow them @fungusamongus on tumblr and @mishrooms on twit, they are the reigning monarch of the sovereign nation of shikagaa and an overall delight

Gaara rubs a hand over the back of his sore neck and sighs. He wouldn't have to hole up in Temari’s room reading her books after dinner if his tutors would just teach him what he wants to learn. No, for him it’s just etiquette and poetry and forks. (Why must formal dinners have so many damn forks?) The third child would never be expected to take his father's place in the court. Temari gets all the good lessons, the diplomacy, the strategy, the economics. She has a head for it and is more than willing to do her duty as eldest, but she’d confessed more than once that if Gaara wants the job so badly he should take it. Kankuro is next in succession though, and gods forbid it falls to him. He’s certainly smart enough and can read a room better than anyone, but a diplomat he is not. Many of his policy books (lighter reads than Temari’s but still more than Gaara gets) have ended up stashed beneath his little brother's bed; Kankuro is always amused at how red his tutor becomes every time he ‘loses’ his books.

It would take an unspeakable tragedy to put Gaara in his father's seat, one he hopes he will never see, and yet the desire to prove himself never wanes. Some days he wishes it would, if only for his joint health.

He pushes his heavy bedroom door open and feels a warm breeze roll in through his open window, a window he most certainly left shut this morning. He scans the room and quickly finds what he wants to see: a worn pair of slippers tucked just under the edge of his bed. Gaara smiles and pushes the door shut behind him. “You can come out now.”

Hearing a wooden creak, Gaara spins around just in time to see a man drop from the top of his wardrobe to land lightly on his bare feet. He straightens and yawns emphatically. “Kept me waiting long enough,” he says, winking.

Gaara grins wider than he has in weeks and nearly flings himself into his visitor's arms. “Shikamaru,” he hums. Strong arms close around him and Gaara thinks for a moment that he never wants to be let go… until he does. He wriggles away, nose wrinkled. “You stink,” he laughs.

Shikamaru’s eyebrows raise in mock offense but he can't fully hide his smile. “Really? I hadn't noticed.”

“You smell like deer.”

“That's an insult to the deer.”

Gaara chuckles again and pushes Shikamaru toward his personal bathroom. “Tub,” he says as sternly as he can manage. He slips around Shikamaru to start the bath, waiting for the water to get hot before plugging the drain. By the time he turns around, Shikamaru has already shed his dirty clothes and dumped them in a pile by the door. It's unfortunate that he’ll have to put them back on in the morning, Gaara thinks, but they can't be laundered tonight without someone asking questions. If anyone were to discover that a nobleman's son was receiving late night visits from a temple deer herder, it would be a scandal. Not that Gaara much cares what a bunch of stuffy courtiers have to say about him. But their secret getting out could mean punishments, and he won't risk losing what little time he and Shikamaru already steal for each other.

Shikamaru comes to sit next to Gaara on the edge of the tub. “You okay?” he asks, rubbing his thumb over Gaara’s creased brow.

“Yeah.” Gaara gives him a reassuring smile before leaning away to turn off the tap. “In. I won't let you in bed with me if you're all sweaty.”

Shikamaru chuckles and does as he was told, slipping all the way under the water to wet his hair. When he comes back up, Gaara squirts soap onto the top of his head. “You know,” Shikamaru says, scrubbing his hair into a bubbly lather, “I could probably use some help getting my back. Might be easier if you just get in.”

Gaara finds it hard to say no when every tanned inch of Shikamaru is sitting soapy and dripping in his bathtub. He wiggles out of the various trappings of nobility and stuffs his clothes in the hamper before settling into the tub. Shikamaru reaches for him immediately, pulling Gaara into his lap, chest to chest. The way he smiles softly makes Gaara want to kiss him, so he does.

His fingers slip into sudsy hair and he catches Shikamaru’s bottom lip between his own, sucking lightly. He feels more than hears Shikamaru’s pleased little hum. Calloused hands glide up Gaara’s back, one resting between his shoulder blades and the other coming back down to settle at his hip. He kisses Shikamaru once, twice more before pulling back. "You still smell."

Shikamaru laughs, all white teeth and crinkled eyes. "So says the one distracting me from my bath."

\---

Gaara watches as Shikamaru ties his hair up, smoothing down the cowlicks. The sun has just started to heat the day, shining through his window to turn Shikamaru gold. Gaara runs his hand up Shikamaru's spine until he comes to a fresh bite mark, lightly bruised. He pokes it.

"Brat." Shikamaru turns and scoops Gaara into his lap. "As if I don't get enough shit from dad without being covered in hickies."

"Tell him I said hello."

"Absolutely not."

Gaara laughs.

"Besides," Shikamaru continues, "I think he's starting to figure out that you're not a farmer like I told him. Probably because I keep coming home smelling like fancy shit."

Gaara hums. "Better than my sheets smelling like deer shit."

"Definitely."

Shikamaru leans his head on Gaara's shoulder. "Hurry up and usurp your sister so I can be your consort."

Gaara smiles. "Right after breakfast. Speaking of which..."

"Yeah." Shikamaru gently deposits Gaara back on the bed and pulls his shirt on. He leans over Gaara, taking his face in both hands and kissing him. "See you soon."

"I love you," Gaara says, pulling down for another.

"Love you, too." Shikamaru kisses him one last time before climbing on the bed and slipping out the window

Gaara waits until he's out of sight to start dressing for the day. The dance tutor is scheduled for today, his least favorite. Perhaps it won't be so bad, he thinks, spotting a pale purple bruise of his own in the mirror. At least he'll have something to think about.


End file.
